Web-SEO Content & Consulting For Pet Industry Marketers
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Wildly Profitable Marketing for the Pet Industry
Finally — a how-to Marketing Success Guide for all pet and veterinary businesses. Co-written by PetCopywriter.com's Pam Foster.
PetCopywriter.com owner
Pam Foster is a SuccessWorks
Certified SEO Copywriter
Pet Marketing Works Better If Your Solutions and Benefits Pop
May 3, 2012
You may have noticed by now that PetCopywriter.com’s website design has been updated. Thanks to the wonderful skills of graphic designer Jason Spooner and web developer Joe Dolson, we’re thrilled with the results.
The reason we did this is… I didn’t feel the website was showcasing what we offer pet and veterinary companies in a quick and overt way.
I took a fresh look at the site from the visitor’s perspective, practicing what I preach in this blog. 
PetCopywriter.com's site redesign helps visitors find pet marketing solutions and benefits at a glance
I said to myself, “When someone arrives here, what should be the first impression they get in mere seconds?”
It’s simply this: You can race ahead of the pack and attract more customers with help from a skilled pet-industry copywriter.
So the web team reworked PetCopywriter.com’s home page with a clean and logical design, simple customer-benefit messages, a video introducing our services to potential clients, and clear invitations for visitors to explore our many services.
That’s it! Much better when it comes to clarity that helps visitors know what to find here. I hope you agree. (Please let me know.)
Having said that, if you scroll below the first screen, you’ll see more content about featured solutions and benefits. But if you choose not to scroll, you can quickly access specific sections of the site you’re interested in.
I’m telling you this because you may want to consider whether or not your pet or veterinary website solutions “pop” in a clear and inviting way for your prospects.
You could be missing opportunities with hundreds of potential customers, so it pays to take a hard look at your site.
Best Days to Publish Pet or Vet Marketing Content
April 12, 2012
Why not try your pet or veterinary marketing posts on Thursdays?
Breaking news from social sharing widget Shareaholic:
“Thursdays are by far the best days to post content that will be shared on social networks, especially between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET.”
This is what Shareaholic discovered when it reviewed its 2011 metrics for content that yielded the most traffic and social shares, as reported in Website Magazine.
Therefore, why not publish the type of content that’s typically shared — such as your blog posts, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, etc. — on Thursday mornings, just to see what happens? That’s what I’ll be doing for a few weeks… just to see.
When to publish new pet marketing content on your website
The Ear Hug Approach to Pet Website Content
March 14, 2012
OK, there’s really no such thing as an ear hug. Or is there…?
This photo provides clear evidence that ear hugs exist.
Isn’t it sweet? To me, it’s the ultimate image of a warm and loving bond between two best buds.
Imagine your pet website visitors feeling this welcome when they read your content. Thanks to Jon Payne for the lovely photo of his pups.
So why should you care about ear hugs?
Well, as the owner of a pet or veterinary business website — your mission is to make visitors feel special and welcome so they’ll stick around and do business with you, yes?
What kind of web content helps you do that?
Here are 3 examples of “ear hug” content you can use on your pet or veterinary website: (more…)
3 Blog Topic Ideas for Marketing Your Pet Business
March 5, 2012
By now you may know that a pet business blog can be a very powerful way to add fresh content to your website and bring more customers to you via the search engines.
But “Blogger’s Block” (What do I write about this week?) is very common. Therefore I’m happy to provide you with some blog topic ideas to use for marketing your pet business or veterinary practice.
As you consider using these topics, have fun working them into a relevant angle for the pet services or products you provide. I have a few suggestions to help you tie these ideas to your unique offering. (more…)
Quality Content Defined for Pet Internet Marketing
February 13, 2012
With the mission of helping you keep up with the challenging world of search engine optimization (SEO) and how pet web content works best today, I try to follow the latest guidelines, trends and events that make a big difference in search results.
Finding quality websites for searchers has always been the goal of Google and other search engines. But just what does “quality” mean?
Last year, several strides were taken to clamp down on “thin” pages that offered very little information, keyword-stuffed articles that offered nothing of value, and duplicate content you can find on dozens if not hundreds of websites. So one definition of quality has been “original, useful and highly relevant content,” which I talk about a lot.
Today I read this new definition of quality, and it helps clarify things for us further, to a point.
According to Google, “High quality content is content you can send to your child to learn something.”
Hmmm.
Here’s how I interpret that for pet-industry marketers, whether you’re marketing pet products, pet services, veterinary care, pet business consulting or anything else related to this industry. (more…)
Brandi is helping me introduce 12 blog topics for marketing your pet business in 2012
December 21, 2011
Greetings and Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays! This photo of Brandi, in her lovely holiday sweater, is from my friend and fellow copywriting colleague Sean McCool. (Thanks for the photo, Sean!)
This is my last blog post for 2011 because I’ll be traveling cross-country with my faithful companion Louie (the Westie pup) the week between Christmas and New Year’s. We’re spending the winter in the warm and sunny southeast.
I hope you’re doing something fun this winter, too, such as growing your business by leaps and bounds!
I’d like to wrap up the year with 12 ideas to get you blogging in early 2012. Perhaps these ideas will spark a series of blog posts that captivate your audience and even motivate them to share your blog with their friends and colleagues.
Ready? Here are 12 blog topics and categories to help with marketing your pet business in 2012:
1. Provide How-To Tips
People are always searching the Web for tips on pet care. Offer a whole series of how-to- tips related to the solutions you offer, whether you’re marketing pet products or services. For example, if you sell reflective dog collars and leashes (one of my favorite examples), you could offer how-to tips on dog-walking safety at night.
Fascinating Facebook Facts for Pet Retail Marketing
November 28, 2011
This weekend, I was browsing through some pet retail magazines and came across a new report that might interest you. It’s called Strategies for Effective Facebook Wall Posts for the Retail Industry, and it includes a number of fascinating facts that may well be worth considering for your pet business Facebook page, whether you’re marketing pet products or services.
- Posting 1-4 times a week produces 71% higher user engagement than 5 or more posts for retail brands: quality trumps frequency
- Posts containing fewer than 80 characters produce 66% higher engagement than longer posts (wow!)
- Posts containing questions generate more than double the amount of comments, even if they may get fewer “likes,”
- Top retail sales keywords that produced more user engagement: “$ off” and “coupon” worked best (55% higher user engagement rates); while the words “sale” and “percent off” (or % off) produced the lowest; even posts about offers less than $10 off produce 17% higher engagement than percent-off posts
- The 2 most effective types of retail brand posts contain a single photo attachment or use only words. Posts containing only words produce 94% higher engagement than avg.
- Wednesday is the best day to post, although you obviously shouldn’t post ONLY on Wednesday.
Happy Thanksgiving from PetCopywriter.com
November 23, 2011
Greetings!
You might enjoy checking out a recent pet industry marketing forecast that a colleague just shared with me. It bodes well for all of us who are marketing to pet owners, pet businesses, veterinary practices and others.
I’m very thankful to be working in such a thriving and fun industry, and I’m honored to work with an incredible variety of dedicated marketing professionals and business owners who love pets as much as I do.
Original content ideas for marketing to pet owners
October 20, 2011
Today I was on a conference call with Heather Lloyd Martin, SEO Copywriting pioneer, mentor and friend of mine. She was talking about some of the things that are critical to web success today and I immediately thought of how these tips can be applied to your pet marketing strategies or pet SEO success (of course!). So I’ll address each one in my upcoming blog posts, starting with this one:
First of all, original web content is an absolute MUST these days for marketing to pet owners –whether you’re marketing pet products, pet services or both.
Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.
1. If you manage a pet ecommerce website and you’re using the manufacturer’s content for each product you carry… I’m afraid your online store’s content might be invisible to search engines. You’re missing out on oodles of traffic from potential customers.
That’s because Google’s Panda update has clamped down on “copycat” websites that have the same content as others. Their latest search algorithms are focused on finding original, fresh content for people searching online for answers… and Google rewards websites that offer something unique and highly relevant.
What you can do right now.
Find ways to offer original content on your website so you can attract more pet-friendly customers via SEO. This means revising each of the manufacturers’ product descriptions with your own spin.
For example, if your online store includes a particular line of pet products because they’re eco-friendly and they reflect your commitment to green products – say so! Tell your visitors why the products are favored by you and treasured by your customers. Make a point to add your own brand voice to the copy. No-one has the same brand voice as you, so this will help make your content unique. Customer reviews can also help, but if you’re just starting to offer those, start revising the product descriptions ASAP.
2. You need to find a way to add fresh, original and highly relevant content to your site each week.
You’ll be delighted and amazed at the search-engine traffic power of writing helpful blog posts, for example. I just started helping a client add blog posts each week, and suddenly after 6 posts or so, the client’s site is turning up on top of Google’s page one for the keywords we targeted. These blog posts are getting attention and driving site visits — all with just a few posts for starters. Great stuff, right?
What you can do right now.
Map out an Editorial Calendar for blog posts or new articles that you commit to adding at least once a week. You could start with a “how-to,” “best-of” or “seasonal tips” blog series that drives people to check out the products on your site.
This can work in the following way. Let’s say you write a blog post about Daylight Savings Time and the importance of pet safety. You could mention that the arrival of shorter days/darker commutes can spell trouble for pets being walked at dinnertime. You might list the top 5 reflective dog products that can help pet owners solve this problem… and link to the reflective leashes, collars and vests you offer in your store. See how cool that could be? And then, when someone types “reflective dog collars” in Google – voila! Your blog post could be smiling right at them on page one of Google. It’s certainly worth a shot.
If you’re marketing pet services such as dog walking, you could have the same type of blog post about Daylight Savings Time except discuss the ways you pledge to keep dogs safe during their walks. Then link to your services page where you feature your dog-walking options. Be sure to include a mention of the towns you serve so your local prospects find you.
Are you stumped about adding original content to your pet website? Or do you have a tip to share? Please let us know. I promise to respond.
Until next time,
Here’s to a profitable website!
Cheers,
Pam Foster
PetCopywriter.com
How to optimize your pet website photos for visitors and SEO
October 7, 2011
Last spring, I was driving my dog to doggie day care and came upon this hilarious scene in a neighbor’s driveway. I had to pull over and snap a quick photo from my phone.
Turkey lessons about optimizing your pet website images
Everyone I’ve shown this to gets a big kick out of it, so I thought I’d share it with you.
What do these turkeys have in common with your pet business or veterinary practice website?
And what lessons can be learned from this photo when it comes to optimizing the images on your site?
I see 2 key take-aways for you.
1. Try to use distinct images for marketing your pet products or services.
This quartet of Tom turkeys are strutting their stuff in full regalia to attract the lone female who happens to be strolling by. Sadly, it’s hard to tell them apart, except the one on the right has some torn tail issues.
So how does the female know which one is her soul mate, or if any of them belong by her side? Hmmm. I wish I knew how that works. All I know is, it leads to an important point. (more…)
Posted in Marketing pet products by PetCopywriter